Monroe, La. - The Ragin' Cajuns used a pair of solo home runs to tie the game in the ninth inning, and then used five runs in the top of the 10th inning to break the game open, picking up a 13-9 win over ULM on Friday night at Warhawk Field.
Despite the loss, ULM (24-28 overall, 12-16 Sun Belt) still clinched its first trip to the Sun Belt Conference Tournament since 2014 thanks to Little Rock's 8-0 win over Arkansas State. The Warhawks will play in Tuesday's single elimination round, with game time to be determined.
Friday's game featured multiple big innings for each team. ULM struck first, with
Trent Tingelstad hitting a two-run home run to left field to give the Warhawks a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning.
The Cajuns (26-29, 14-15) answered with three runs in the top of the second inning. The inning was fueled by a hit batsman and a walk, with Orynn Veillon scoring on a passed ball while Brennan Breaux hit an RBI single and Conner Dupuy collected an RBI on a fielder's choice for the 3-2 lead.
After the Warhawks failed to score with runners on second and third bases with no outs in the third inning, the Cajuns expanded the lead in the fourth inning. Handsome Monica hit a lead off home run and Kole McKinnon added a two-run blast to push the lead to 6-2.
ULM answered in the bottom of the fifth inning. With a runner on first base and two outs,
Cameron Horton was hit by a pitch.
Masen Prososki followed with a two-RBI double down the left field line, pulling the Warhawks within 6-4.
Logan Wurm added an RBI single to plate Prososki to cut the gap to 6-5. After
Braedon Barrett singled,
Joey Jordan came through with an RBI single to left, scoring Wurm to tie the game at 6.
The game remained deadlocked until the bottom of the eighth when
Chad Bell hit an RBI double to deep center, scoring Tingelstad from first base. Bell scored later in the inning on
Blake Buckman's sacrifice fly for the 8-6 lead.
However, the Cajuns tied the game in the top of the ninth inning on solo homers from Hunter Kasuls and Veillon to force extra innings. In the 10th inning, Dupuy hit an RBI double and Veillon drove in three runs on a triple to break the game open.
Bell led the Warhawks with three hits, adding a solo homer in the bottom of the 10th, and also drove in two runs and scored twice. Bell now has 17 home runs on the season, tied for the league lead in the Sun Belt, and extended his career-best hitting streak to 18 games.
Tingelstad also had two hits with two RBIs, while Jordan, Beesley, Wurm and Barrett had two hits each. Breaux led the Cajuns with four hits and an RBI while scoring three times. McKinnon tallied three hits, while Kasuls, Veillon and Monica all had two hits.
Michael Leaumont picked up the win for the Cajuns, throwing the final two innings, giving up a run on one hit with three strikeouts.
Conner Deeds suffered the loss, giving up four runs on three hits with a walk and a strikeout in one-third of an inning.
The Warhawks and Cajuns wrap up the series on Saturday afternoon at Warhawk Field. Due to impending weather, first pitch has been moved up to noon. The Warhawks will honor their 10 seniors before first pitch. The game is also Youth Day, with kids 18 and under admitted free of charge. For tickets, call 318-342-HAWK or visit ULMWarhawks.com. Links to live video, audio and stats are available at ULMWarhawks.com.
